2016 Daytona 500

2016 Daytona 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
Race 1 of 36 in the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date February 21, 2016 (2016-02-21)
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Weather Mostly sunny skies with a temperature of 74 °F (23 °C); wind out of the east/southeast at 5 mph (8.0 km/h)
Average speed 157.549 mph (253.551 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Time 45.845
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports
Duel 2 Winner Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 95
Winner
No. 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 6.1/11 (Overnight)[17]
6.6/12 (Final)[18]
11.4 million viewers[18]
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

The 2016 Daytona 500, the 58th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on February 21, 2016, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race in a photo finish over Martin Truex Jr. The top-five was rounded out by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.

Chase Elliott won the pole for the race and led three laps before crashing out early in the race and finished 37th. Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch won the Duel races. Unlike Busch, Earnhardt Jr. crashed out with 29 laps to go and finished 36th.

Hamlin led a race-high of 95 laps on his way to winning the race. There were six caution flag periods for 31 laps and 20 lead changes among 15 different drivers.

This was the 27th career victory for Hamlin, first of the season, first at Daytona International Speedway and fifth win at the track for Joe Gibbs Racing. He left Daytona Beach with a five-point lead over Truex Jr. Toyota left with an eight-point lead over Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings.

The Daytona 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

This event featured guest star WWE wrestler John Cena as a pace car driver.

This was the first Daytona 500 since 1992 and 1998 not featuring 3-time Daytona 500 winner Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart on the starting grid. Gordon retired at the end of 2015 and called the 2016 race from the commentators to stand, and Stewart injured his back while riding a dune buggy outside San Diego. Also, this was the last Daytona 500 starts for Bobby Labonte, Robert Richardson Jr., Michael Annett, Brian Vickers, HScott Motorsports, and Carl Edwards.

  1. ^ "2016 Sprint Cup Series schedule" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. January 26, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  2. ^ "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 12, 2016. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 13, 2016. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Second Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 13, 2016. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Qualifying results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 14, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  7. ^ "Third Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  8. ^ "Fourth Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  9. ^ "Fifth Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 18, 2016. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  10. ^ "Starting Lineup". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 18, 2016. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  11. ^ "Sixth Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  12. ^ "Seventh Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  13. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 20, 2016. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  14. ^ "Daytona 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. February 21, 2016. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  15. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 23, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  16. ^ "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 23, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  17. ^ Paulsen (February 23, 2016). "Daytona 500 Overnights Low Despite Thriller Finish". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Paulsen (February 26, 2016). "2016 Daytona 500 Second-Lowest Rated Ever". SportsMediaWatch.com. Sports Media Watch. Retrieved February 27, 2016.